“The next four years that we have, we want to make them as prosperous as we can,” Santiago said, speaking on behalf of the Millville City Commission.

Out of the five commissioners leading the city, four new faces won the November election — Santiago, Joseph Sooy, Lynne Porreca Compari and David Ennis. Jim Quinn was the only incumbent commissioner who won his re-election bid.

“We’re looking for the best solutions that we can come up with — as a team — to make Millville a better place for all of us,” Santiago said.

Quinn now serves as a coach, according to Santiago, to help the sitting commissioners along with their new responsibilities.

“Mike’s just so upbeat,” Quinn said.

“He’s very sincere and really cares.”

Although he carries the title of mayor, Santiago wants each commissioner to think of themselves as mayors too and leaders for their respective departments.

In Millville’s form of government, each commissioner also leads a special department in the city. Santiago, for instance, is also the director of public safety — a position he is confident to have.

“My background in law enforcement, I think, is going to be a plus,” Santiago said, using his 27 years of Millville Police Department experience to assist him.

“I don’t know of anybody better to lead the public safety department than a former police captain with the energy that Mike Santiago has,” Quinn said.

Quinn serves as the director of revenue and finance, Ennis serves as the director of public works, Porreca Comapri serves as the director of public affairs and Sooy serves as the director of parks and public property.

Speaking in the Thunderbolt Club, Santiago pointed to a prominent photo of Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim player Mike Trout — a Millville native — as a source of inspiration.

“What I want to do is, I want to bring out our city to be like Mike Trout,” Santiago said, referring to Trout as a source of pride.

“Everybody looks at Millville because of Mike Trout at this point,” Santiago said. “We need to make Millville look just as good as Mike.”